Nine Times
by Talwyn
Summary: Nine times Quinn has tried to ask Rachel out on a date, will she succeed or will she chicken out?


**Author's Note: **I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, if its good or not, but I guess you all can let me know what you think. Just something that came to me one night when I was trying to get to sleep.

* * *

The first time it happened was a Friday. She was standing at her locker searching for something while I stood at mine across the hall trying to gather the courage to go over and speak to her. I couldn't help but notice she's wearing different clothes than when she arrived today and I know that means, she's had a slushy thrown in her face at some point in the last few hours.

The knowledge makes me faintly sick.

I had tried to stop it, as Head Bitch In Charge I should have had that power, but it didn't seem to matter in the end, I'd opened Pandora's box and no amount of trying could stuff the evil back inside. The slushies still happened and unless I stood there and took one for her they weren't going to stop. I wasn't strong enough to do that for her quite yet.

It seems my feet had developed a mind of their own because moments later I'm standing behind the brunette that I've been studying, less than an arm's length away and with no idea of how I got there. I use a moments blind courage to take a breath and open my mouth to speak to her.

She beats me to it.

"Quinn, I have had an unusually tiring and stressful day today and I'm really not in the mood for whatever insult or joke you plan to perform at my expense. So please do me a kindness and leave me alone."

She says it without even turning around and in that moment my courage deserts me. I want to spin on my heel and run away but I can't do that, I have to keep up appearances. So I turn and walk quickly away not allowing my tears to fall until I was safely in my car.

* * *

The second time was in Glee club at the start of the next week. Mr Shue had just announced the theme of duets and for once wasn't forcing us into pairs we had no interest in being in. From the first moment I realized I could ask Rachel I was fidgeting in my seat, I had to get across the room and ask her before anyone else got the chance but I couldn't while Mr Shue kept talking and talking and talking.

The whole thing was perfect, I would get to spend time with Rachel and finally have plenty of time to actually ask her out and if anyone wondered why I was so keen to ask the diva I could honestly say that we've never sang a duet together and that I thought we'd sound good together. I'm so excited by the idea that I totally miss Mr Shue actually shutting up and it's only when people start moving around that I snap out of it.

I jump to my feet and start crossing the choir room to where Rachel is sitting, but the oaf Finn has managed to get there first.

"Certainly Finn, I'd love to sing a duet with you." She says.

I keep walking, across the room, out the door and down the corridor. Santana finds me later curled up in the girl's bathroom but all she does is sigh and wrap her arms around me until I cry myself out.

* * *

The third time happened later that week at our lockers again. Rachel just slammed hers shut and was turning to head away from me down the busy corridor when I called out to her. She turned without hesitation and with a smile and I couldn't help but smile back, right until a passing jock tossed the content of his big gulp cup into her face.

For a moment she's stood statue still in shock, her eyes slammed closed and her mouth a little open before she wipes the gunk from her face. She looks at me not with hate or anger but pity and regret as I stand and stare in shock, then she shakes her head, retrieves her slushy kit from her locker and enters the girl's bathroom I presume to clean up.

I don't give in to tears this time but the jock with the slushy does when Santana and I are done with him.

* * *

The fourth time happens in the cafeteria at lunch time a week. Santana, Brittany and I are late after another one of Coach Sylvester's meetings and when I glance over to where the gleeks are sitting I note a seat next to Rachel is free. With Brittany's help I persuade Santana to agree to the three of us sitting with the gleeks and I even manage to get the seat next to Rachel. She greets me with a huge smile which makes me melt a little inside and all I can do is smile back at her while I try to gather my wits again. I can see Santana smirking at me from the other side of the table.

Every time I build up the courage to try to talk to her someone else manages to grab her attention first, even Brittany at one point, and it would be faintly amusing if it wasn't so annoying. Before I realize it, lunch is over and Rachel has bounded out of her seat to head to her next class.

All I can do is stare at my lunch still sitting untouched on the try in front of me and I don't feel hungry any more. Santana sighs theatrically from her seat across the table.

* * *

The fifth time is in the library during our study period. I find her alone at the desk nearest the librarian on duty, who happens to be the one who believes that the only sound you should hear in the library is silence. My "Can I sit here?" directed to Rachel received a smile and nod from the diva and a "shush" from the librarian to which all I can do is roll my eyes. Rachel does a little silent giggle.

It takes me a moment to stop basking in the afterglow of her smile and actually get myself organized across from the diva. After a few moments I decide to try and talk to Rachel.

"Rachel…"

"Shush" interrupts the librarian.

I close my eyes and sigh before trying again in a whisper, "Rachel…"

"Shush"

I glare at the librarian but she isn't even looking my way right now, so I turn my attention back to Rachel.

"Rachel…"

"Young lady" the librarian hisses suddenly at my elbow, "since you can't seem to follow the rules I'm going to need you to leave."

"But…"

"Out" She demands pointing towards the door.

I glance back as the library door closes behind me and I see Rachel give me a little wave.

* * *

The sixth time is back in the choir room again before another Glee practice. She's leaning on the piano sorting through some music and showing off those incredibly long legs of hers under one of those incredibly short skirts. I'm not entirely sure how long I was staring but it must have been a while since it took Santana deliberately bumping into me to bring me back down to earth and when she passes me a tissue I figure I must have been drooling, or maybe just looking like I was about to start.

I glance around but everyone else is too busy talking amongst themselves to have taken any notice of me, so I walk up to the piano and lean on it next to Rachel trying the best I can to look casual. She doesn't look up but I do see her smile as she pushes a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Hi Rachel…"

"Sorry I'm late everyone, so let's get down to business…" Mr Shue says as he barrels through the choir room door.

Rachel smiles at Quinn and shrugs before collecting her music and walking across the choir room to her seat and I can only watch her go and sigh.

* * *

The seventh time is in the rain. It's not pouring so heavily that it would soak you to the skin but it's not a nice kind of rain to be standing out in which is where I accidently find her, standing out by the road in the rain under her star spangled umbrella which I can't help at grin at. She's seems to be bouncing on her feet and I'm pretty sure I can hear her singing to herself, it seems even bad weather can't dampen her spirits.

I can't help but wonder why she's standing there while I watch her, yeah I know a little creepy but those legs are still on show even below her raincoat and I can't really help but stare. A car drives past and I realise I'm getting wet too because I stopped walking to my car when I saw her standing there. I force my legs to move and a moment later I'm standing next to her, she looks round and smiles raising her umbrella a little so I can shelter underneath.

"Hi Rachel…"

A car pulls up and Rachel turns to look and her face breaks in to a smile.

"My Daddy's here, do you need a ride home Quinn?"

"No, but thanks Rachel."

I stand unprotected in the rain and watch as she climbs into her father's car and it drives away.

* * *

The eighth time is in the auditorium. I'm not even looking for her but the sound of her singing is unmistakeable even over the hubbub of a busy high school. I sneak in the top door and find her on the stage entirely dedicated to belting out a show tune, something from Funny Girl I think. There's no way I want to disturb her, I love hearing her sing and I'll take any opportunity to listen so I sit down in the back row, hopefully out of her sight, to listen as she sings.

She sings for most of lunch break, one song after another almost without stopping. It doesn't matter what she's singing, some I know and some I don't, but it's all wonderful and while I'm occasionally tempted to sing along I manage to restrain myself and just sit and listen. It's almost the end of lunch when she finally stops for what seems to be the last time and I've just about gathered the courage to call down to her when she looks directly up at me.

"Hi Quinn, hope you liked the show" she says with a smile and I know she really means it.

I've no idea how she knew I was up here, you can't see anything because of the stage lights, but by the time the surprise has passed she's already gone.

* * *

The ninth time was almost my own fault. I caught up with her in the choir room after Glee and even managed to get her to stop and talk to me but when she turned those big doe eyes up towards me expectantly I felt like I forgot my own name. I could feel my face burning red and though I opened my mouth to speak, nothing came out no matter how hard I tried.

Finn tried to interrupt but she brushed him off, turning away for a moment to tell him she'd catch up with him later because I wanted to talk to her right now. He lumbered off in a bad mood and when she turned back around to look at me again it felt like someone had sucked all the air out of my lungs again.

I took a step back, shook my head at her questioning look, spun on my heel and cannoned straight into Santana who was standing directly behind me. I tried to side step and escape but she grabbed my arm in a painful iron grip and yanked me back towards Rachel.

"Look midget, I'm sick and tired of watching this one screw things up so this is what's going to happen." Santana says to Rachel, "Q has a question for you and once she regains the use of her vocal chords she's going to ask it and you and I are going to wait right here till she does. Then you can answer her and frankly I don't care what your answer is as long as we can all get on with our lives afterward. Comprende?"

Rachel just nods and turns expectantly to me. I know I'm not going to get away, Santana's grip is well known as inescapable when she wants it to be, so given that the flight option is removed, there's only one thing I can do. I swallow once, take a deep breath and…

"Rachel, would you like to go out with me?" I pause and then add, completely unnecessarily, "On a date I mean."

She looks up at me and blinks and I immediately start thinking the worst, she doesn't like me the way I like her, she doesn't want to be seen with me, I've just ruined any chance I had of even being her friend…

But then she breaks in to one of her huge smiles that makes me feel so warm inside and I feel her hand slip into mine.

"I thought you'd never ask." She says.


End file.
